Cool, man! Bisbee named the best hippie town in Arizona

By KTAR.com | September 15, 2016 at 5:34 amUPDATED: September 15, 2016 at 11:51 am

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PHOENIX — Arizonans looking for an escape of the more hippie variety need not go to California.

Instead, they should head to Bisbee, located in the southern part of the state. According to Thrillist, the old mining town is the best hippie town in Arizona.

Located just 10 miles north of the Mexican border, Bisbee has become a home for colorful characters and a vacation spot for those looking to experience both a historical Arizona town with a side of unique culture.

Thrillist summed up the city best:

Now it’s got a colorfully painted Downtown full of “art cars” and equally colorful characters who’ve decided to drop it all and go live in the desert. The park in front of the mining museum — the town’s most obvious link to its blue-collar past — is frequently filled with hacky-sackers. And walking through the neighborhoods makes for a different kind of museum, one full of creative decorations on residents’ lawns, also known as lawn art.

This is hardly the first time Bisbee has been nationally recognized. Earlier this year, it was named the best historic small town in the nation by USA Today.

Bisbee was founded in 1880 as a copper, gold and silver mining town and was named after a once-well known judge who funded the nearby Copper Queen Mine.

The town’s tourism director Jen Luria said visitors can even take a tour of the underground Copper Queen Mine.

“The mine tour takes you 1,500 feet into one of the old mines that we have here,” she said. “And we have a big open pit mine that you can take a look at.”